The forwards are so glaringly good, it’s easy to miss. But if the Portland Winterhawks make an anticipated run deep into the Western Hockey League playoffs, the stand-up play of a bunch of youngsters on the blue line will have as much to do with that success as any goals scored by Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Johansen and company.
Portland was the only WHL team this season to have four defensemen put up at least 30 points. Their combination of mobility and composure was a big reason why the club ranked fourth on both the power play and the penalty kill.
Portland does not have a 20-year-old on defense, and has played without 19-year-old team captain Brett Ponich since his February knee injury. But 19-year-olds Taylor Aronson and William Wrenn, 18-year-olds Joe Morrow and Troy Rutkowski, 17-year-old Tyler Wotherspoon, and 16-year-old rookies Derrick Pouliot and Josh Hansen have demonstrated the consistency of veterans.
Which, Winterhawks coach and general manager Mike Johnston said, many of them are.
“We’ve had several of them (paired) together for the last year,” Johnston said. “We really like our defensive core, even though they are still young. They had good experience last year in the playoffs.”
The conference semifinal series that begins tonight at the Rose Garden will be the fourth WHL playoff series for Aaronson, Morrow, Rutkowski and Wotherspoon. Wrenn joined the team from the University of Denver at midseason, an acquisition that became even more significant when Ponich was injured.
Wrenn, Aronson and Rutkowski already have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. Morrow and Wotherspoon are expected to be drafted this June.
Morrow, who supplied nine goals and 40 assists in 60 regular-season games and added three assists in a four-game sweep of Everett, said it’s all about consistent effort.
“Consistency is a huge deal for defense. If we’re consistently moving the pucks up to the forwards, we’re getting our job done,” Morrow said. “We’ve got some talented forwards, so all we have to do is get them the puck, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
By moving the puck crisply, the defense makes opposing forwards work harder and makes things easier for Portland’s explosive forwards.
“I think they are really the anchor of our team,” Johnston said. “We go as our defense goes, and if they’re moving the puck and they’re skating, then we really play a much better game.”
Those anchors aren’t going to lose their grip and get ahead of themselves just because the Winterhawks sailed past Everett with ease.
“We’re going to keep a confident hard-working aspect to our game,” Morrow said, sounding like a veteran. “You treat every game like it’s your last one. So you play as hard as you can every night for the fans, for the coaches, for the guy sitting next to you. You can’t let anything bother you.”
Note
The Winterhawks on Wednesday announced that center Chase Deleo has signed with the team. Portland’s ninth-round selection in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft, Deleo played this season for the L.A. Selects U16 team, producing 20 goals and 19 assists in 35 games for a team that reached the national semifinals.
